Page:Story of the robins.djvu/225

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Mrs. Addis's Pets.
209

long afterwards her monkey escaped to the top of a house, from whence he fell and broke his neck. The favourite cat went mad, and was obliged to be killed. In short, by a series of calamities all her dear darlings were successively destroyed. She supplied their places with new favourites, which gave her a great deal of fatigue and trouble.

In the meanwhile her children grew up, and having experienced no tenderness from her, they scarcely knew they had a mamma, nor did those who had the care of their education inculcate that her want of affection did not cancel their duty; they therefore treated her with the utmost neglect, and she had no friend left In her old age, when she was no longer capable of amusing herself with cats, dogs, parrots, and monkeys, she became sensible of her errors, and wished for the comforts which other parents enjoyed: but it was now too late, and she ended her days in sorrow and regret.

This unfortunate lady had tenderness enough in her disposition for all the purposes of humanity, and had she placed it on proper objects, agreeably to Mrs. Benson's rule, she might have been, like her, a good wife, mother, friend, and mistress, consequently respectable and happy. But when a child Mrs. Addis was, under an idea of making her